Synopsis:

Featuring characters facing a crisis of faith, this Christian romance novel of 100,000 words is the fourth book in The Callaghans & McFaddens series from USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Rae Jordan. A HANDFUL OF FLOWERS (ASIN: B01APAIXM6) is the prequel to this series.

In the blink of an eye, her forever turned to never.

Jayden Murray had promised he loved her and saw forever with her, so Sammi McFadden allowed things to go further than she’d known was right. But instead of proposing, Jayden tells her he’s fallen in love with someone else. Heartbroken at not just the loss of her dreams, but the loss of her innocence, Sammi heads down a path that is riddled with decisions contrary to what she'd been raised to believe were right.

He’d always taken on responsibility when necessary, so he could do no less for her.

Levi Weston isn’t sure what to make of things when his one-night-stand shows up on his doorstep three months after the fact…pregnant. As with every other issue that’s arisen in his life, he is willing to take responsibility and do what’s right. However, as he gets to know the mother of his child, Levi is confused by the guilt and shame that seem to weigh so heavily on Sammi.

Sammi’s faith is as foreign to Levi as the idea of becoming a father, and though he wants to learn about both, he hates the idea of his child being raised in an environment of shame. As he and Sammi grow closer, Levi realizes that things are more complex than he’d realized.

Sammi struggles to accept the consequences for her actions and to live with her new reality—unwed mother instead of wife and then mother. Though it eats at her soul, she feels that the judgment she faces because of the choices she made is her lot to bear.

Can Levi get Sammi to see that their child deserves better? Or will she lose everything she’s dreamed of for her tomorrow because she can’t accept that forgiveness is hers for the taking?

If you enjoy heartwarming Christian romance with a focus on love, faith, and family, be sure to check out the other books and series by Kimberly Rae Jordan.

Believing in Tomorrow tells the tale of sin and grace in such a clear and beautiful way. As with other books by Kimberly Rae Jordan, the overall tone of the book is serious, and the subject matter deep.

As Sammi experienced Jordan’s betrayal and experienced the numbing grief as she realized that she had given him something she could never get back, I could feel her pain. And as her choices that night went from bad to worse, I got it. It totally made sense why she did what she did, and despite the fact her choices were stupid, the author did such a great job in showing her thoughts and motivations, it made sense.

Levi also experienced the pain of betrayal, in his case, by his brother and fiancee. As a man who had no Christian upbringing or understanding of sin, his choices made sense as well. I love that despite the fact that Levi’s brother stole his fiancee AND tons of money from his business, Levi still struggled with whether he should report this to the police. He also showed such kindness to his mother despite the terrible way she treated him.

Sammi’s parents were introduced in the prequel to this series as loving, Christian people. So when Sammi finally got up the courage to break the news to them about her pregnancy, I was surprised at their responses. True, I understood how they would have been shocked, but I expected them to be a little more obvious in showing grace to Sammi. Yet again, I could see the author’s purpose in this, and as the story was being told from Sammi’s perspective, that her view of their reaction was clouded by overwhelming guilt.

As Sammi allowed her remorse over her poor choices and imagined judgement and condemnation from everyone around her. I could feel her pain and her struggles. Hopeless, and lonely. Scared.

The theme of this story was clearly that God’s grace is greater than all our sins. The message of forgiveness was taught loud and clear.

I thought that Sammi’s father’s perspective that just because Levi and Sammi conceived a child together didn’t automatically mean that they should marry was very interesting. I have never even considered that marriage under those circumstances could be a bad thing.

Another important point that the author brought up was the fact that pregnancy outside of marriage is a very visible sin – it is very hard to hide. I have often thought that it is a shame that so many Christians treat this as an unforgivable sin, and yet indulge in other sins that don’t have such visual evidence which are in so many ways worse. Sins such as hatred, envy, gossip. Sin is sin and grieves the heart of God. And our sin, no matter how great or small, is why the Son of God offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross. So we should be slow to judge others and should with gentleness and kindness and love “restore such a one”.

This book is part of a series, but it can stand alone. The author has several series she has written, and many of the characters from one series appear in the others, so it would be good to read them all so you can see more of the beautiful tapestry of lives that she is weaving.